CHAMPAIGN — Multiple Ogle County area wrestlers competed in the IHSA State Championships at the State Farm Center in Champaign this weekend. The tournament began on Thursday, with matches continuing through Saturday evening. Byron fielded two wrestlers and Oregon fielded three wrestlers in the tournament this weekend.
Byron's Brody Stien (33-16) wrestled in the Class 1A 150-pound division, conceding an 8-0 major decision against Herrin's Blue Bishop and a fall against Chicago Hope Academy's Arkail Griffin.
Byron's Jared Claunch (29-9) wrestled in the Class 1A 285-pound division, conceding a fall against Althoff Catholic's Jason Dowell and Beardstown's Chuck Dailey.
Oregon's Nelson Benesh (38-9) wrestled three bouts in the Class 1A 113-pound division, scoring a 11-7 decision over Fithian Oakwood's Brayden Edwards before falling by 8-4 decision to Peoria Notre Dame's Ian Akers and losing to Vandalia's Elijah Mabry.
Oregon's Anthony Bauer (36-8) wrestled in the Class 1A 157-pound division. Bauer fell to Fithian Oakwood's Bryson Capansky in the first round, but recovered with back-to-back falls over Chicago Hope Academy's Tony Jones-Blakely and Stanford Olympia's Kelton Graden. Bauer battled Roxana's Lyndon Theis on Saturday, falling by 14-9 decision.
Oregon's Quentin Berry (25-11) wrestled in the Class 1A 190-pound division, finishing 1-2 with a 15-9 decision over Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley's Aiden Sancken. The win came between losses by fall against Clifton Central's Hunter Hull and Coal City's Cade Poyner.
